The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People & Affiliate Marketing

Stephen R. Covey wrote and first published his iconic book in 1989. Over 15 million copies have been sold. This is up there in stature with Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

I thought I'd link each of these 7 Habits with successful traits in Affiliate Marketing.

1 - Be Proactive

Progress doesn't occur without action. We have to be proactive in creating a business plan and following that plan in order to make progress towards our goals.

Being proactive is the opposite of procrastinating. It is easy to make excuses and give valid reasons why we didn't take action like we had planned.

When we take the attitude of not making any more excuses, we can be proactive.

2 - Begin With The End In Mind

This can be likened to visualizing a target. In affiliate marketing, the target is the result we wish to have at a particular moment in the future.

In Think and Grow Rich we are directed to state this result verbally as well as a summary on how we expect to achieve it, twice each day.

There is a good reason why this technique is recommended by virtually all motivational gurus. Do you do this each day? And of not why not? Perhaps you do not believe it helps. If you are happy with your results, then OK. What if you are not? Why not give it a try.

3 - First Things First

There are many actions involved in following our plan. Are they all equally important? I don't think so.

It is our responsibility to figure out the most important action. Often this action is the precursor to all that follows. How well we execute that first action will influence the outcome of the others.

For example, starting the day with a good breakfast will give us the energy to perform better during the morning. If we are hungry, this can adversely affect our performance.

Don't do first things first and we will sabotage our efforts, no matter how hard we work.

Have you prioritized the action steps in your plan? Do you have a plan to begin with? If you are remiss, it is in your power to do this now.

4 - Think Win Win

Our business is not a zero-sum endeavor. Nobody has to lose in order for somebody to win. We succeed when everyone wins.

Take for example rowers in a boat. If one rower works harder than the others, the results will be chaos. And nobody will win.

When they work in harmony, then they all can finish the race together proudly, and even win.

Ask these question before taking any action. "When I take this action, am I the only one coming out ahead? Can I ensure that my actions will also help meet the needs and wants others?

Then act accordingly.

5 - Seek First To Understand And Then To Be Understood

In affiliate marketing it is super important to know our audience If we have no clue who are our customers and what their needs and wants are, how can we expect to reach the right people? We cannot aim our arrow if there is no target. Or if there is a target, it is not clear.

Only when we succeed in reaching the right customers who are looking for products and services in our niche, will our message resonate and help us succeed.

6 - Synergize

Synergize is defined as follows:

"combine or coordinate the activity of (two or more agents) to produce a joint affect greater than the sum of their separate effects."

Most of us as members of Wealthy Affiliate synergize a great deal.

Whenever we participate in a discussion related to affiliate marketing, or work with another member to solve a problem, we are able to achieve results that are more effective compared to going it alone.

The whole wide world of affiliate marketing, is filled with examples of entrepreneurs working together to achieve results that are bigger than what could be achieved working independently.

Are you working with others in this way? This very much is like a mastermind group taught in Think and Grow Rich. It only takes two individuals to create a mastermind.

When we share our day to day actions with someone else, it is a powerful way of holding ourselves accountable.

7 - Sharpen The Saw

Ah ha! I assume we all know what this means. When we go through the training within Wealthy Affiliate as well as outside, we are improving our skills to perform better.I

t is the same as sharpening the saw to cut through wood using less effort.

When we look at the results of others and wonder how come we cannot achieve what they have, here is the answer.

They sharpened their saw in order to work more efficiently and effectively. Hence, they are able to get results faster than those who do not sharpen their saw.

Are you going to sharpen your saw?

Conclusion

There you have it. 7 lessons we can all learn from, and have Stephen R. Covey to thank. The objective is to turn these lessons into habits.

Just like in Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill stressed the importance of developing habits that work for us rather than against us, Mr. Covey is teaching the same thing.

I hope you found this blog helpful and that you can develop and apply these habits to grow your affiliate marketing business more efficiently, effectively and enthusiastically!

How about that. The 3 E's!

Can you share one or two of these habits that you have already mastered? And if you haven't, which one's will you be working on in the weeks and months ahead?

Going further if you can share an example of how one of these habits has helped you get results, please share that experience as well.

Thank You!

All the best in your affiliate marketing journey.

Edwin